LED Headlight Conversions | Page 8 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Sorry if this is a post that has been addressed but I can't find what I'm looking for with the search function.

Has anyone done a straight swap from halogen to LED using the OEM halogen projector? If so, were there any issues? I have read that the LEDs are really bright but do not actually throw the light as far as the original halogens. I hate to waste $$ for appearance only and no improvement in down the road visibility. Any assistance is greatly appreciated!!

:salute:
Your thread was merged with this one. You may also wish to check anther one on a similar topic; http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/headlight-led-upgrade.429160/
Because LED bulbs are really bright, they are not recommended for reflector type housings. That is why you see halogens in them.

Peter
 



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Sorry if this is a post that has been addressed but I can't find what I'm looking for with the search function.

Has anyone done a straight swap from halogen to LED using the OEM halogen projector? If so, were there any issues? I have read that the LEDs are really bright but do not actually throw the light as far as the original halogens. I hate to waste $$ for appearance only and no improvement in down the road visibility. Any assistance is greatly appreciated!!

:salute:
I replaced the Halogens with LED 18 months ago and never regretted it foe one second. I have a 2013. New buld plugs right in and the dust cover snaps right back on. No Issues. The LED's I used have metal ribbons as heat sinks. There are more then one seller of this type. I have seen them priced from $40.00 to $100.00 Its a no brainer.
 






Hey everyone! Good morning. If this is the wrong place to post, I apologize.

I just purchased a 2015 Explorer XLT that is pretty loaded. And I am very happy with how it drives so far - coming from an older Grand Cherokee, the Explorer drives so smoothly and quietly!

One thing that I would really love to do is swap out the stock front lights with LED headlamps and fog lamps, but I'm having a hard time figuring out which are the best option. I'm not very skilled in terms of modifications so the more "plug and play" the better.

I'm confused with the headlights because I am not seeing LED bulbs that are hi/low beam... Are there such things!?

Again, if this is the wrong spot to post, I apologize. I look forward to learning from the more seasoned members and who knows...maybe someday I'll become a "seasoned" member myself!
 






Hey everyone! Good morning. If this is the wrong place to post, I apologize.

I just purchased a 2015 Explorer XLT that is pretty loaded. And I am very happy with how it drives so far - coming from an older Grand Cherokee, the Explorer drives so smoothly and quietly!

One thing that I would really love to do is swap out the stock front lights with LED headlamps and fog lamps, but I'm having a hard time figuring out which are the best option. I'm not very skilled in terms of modifications so the more "plug and play" the better.

I'm confused with the headlights because I am not seeing LED bulbs that are hi/low beam... Are there such things!?

Again, if this is the wrong spot to post, I apologize. I look forward to learning from the more seasoned members and who knows...maybe someday I'll become a "seasoned" member myself!
Good morning and Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
I've moved your thread here so that you can get some more info on the project.
The bulb you have now is actually not a Hi/Lo one. The light intensity is controlled by a shutter that retracts when you chose high beam. On low beam the bulb is partially covered by the shutter. If you check out post #10 you will see a picture of a partial conversion but if you check the link supplied there and check the compatibility chart you will see that the LED bulb is shown as not being compatible with that vehicle. Many people seem to think that you can just simply stick any kind of bulb in any kind of housing whether it be a reflector or projector. This just is not so. While doing so will no doubt improve the amount of light produced, there is no way to get a perfect beam.
The housings are specifically designed for the type of factory bulb that it was designed for. There is a reason that reflector types come with halogen and not LED. LED produces just too bright a light to be properly handled by a reflector resulting in light splash. Here is an interesting article on LED;
http://www.archlighting.com/technology/leds-understanding-optical-performance_o

Also, as per the linked article below; "Headlight reflectors and lenses are designed for a bulb of a specific output, size and shape. Altering any one of those elements may result in a different beam pattern that could stun, blind and annoy other road users."
http://www.caradvice.com.au/278125/headlights-explained-halogen-v-hid-v-led-v-laser/

There are other threads/posts on conversions and for fog light upgrades as well. The Forum has a handy 'Search' feature in the upper right that you should familiarize yourself with. It may take some practice but it is useful for finding existing thread on many discussed topic. Good luck.

Peter
 






Good morning and Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
I've moved your thread here so that you can get some more info on the project.
The bulb you have now is actually not a Hi/Lo one. The light intensity is controlled by a shutter that retracts when you chose high beam. On low beam the bulb is partially covered by the shutter. If you check out post #10 you will see a picture of a partial conversion but if you check the link supplied there and check the compatibility chart you will see that the LED bulb is shown as not being compatible with that vehicle. Many people seem to think that you can just simply stick any kind of bulb in any kind of housing whether it be a reflector or projector. This just is not so. While doing so will no doubt improve the amount of light produced, there is no way to get a perfect beam.
The housings are specifically designed for the type of factory bulb that it was designed for. There is a reason that reflector types come with halogen and not LED. LED produces just too bright a light to be properly handled by a reflector resulting in light splash. Here is an interesting article on LED;
http://www.archlighting.com/technology/leds-understanding-optical-performance_o

Also, as per the linked article below; "Headlight reflectors and lenses are designed for a bulb of a specific output, size and shape. Altering any one of those elements may result in a different beam pattern that could stun, blind and annoy other road users."
http://www.caradvice.com.au/278125/headlights-explained-halogen-v-hid-v-led-v-laser/

There are other threads/posts on conversions and for fog light upgrades as well. The Forum has a handy 'Search' feature in the upper right that you should familiarize yourself with. It may take some practice but it is useful for finding existing thread on many discussed topic. Good luck.

Peter

These articles are very enlightening (pardon the pun....) but it seems as though many forum members are pleased with results of their LED conversion. I ordered a kit from CarID.com just to see if what they advertise is true. I expect them to arrive today and will post results. I am leaning toward what you say that it will not work, but I guess I just want to see for myself.
 






These articles are very enlightening (pardon the pun....) but it seems as though many forum members are pleased with results of their LED conversion. I ordered a kit from CarID.com just to see if what they advertise is true. I expect them to arrive today and will post results. I am leaning toward what you say that it will not work, but I guess I just want to see for myself.
It will likely work but that doesn't mean it works correctly. It costs more $$ to do it the right way so that is why many go the less expensive 'plug and play' route.
 






It will likely work but that doesn't mean it works correctly. It costs more $$ to do it the right way so that is why many go the less expensive 'plug and play' route.
Makes sense...when you say to go the expensive route, I assume you mean a complete conversion of the whole assembly. Just for yucks, how much would that be? Also, would a plug & play HID yield similar results? There is an impressive set of HID conversion kits made by Morimoto (sp?) for $150 for both headlights. Are you familiar with them?

To tell you the truth, I am not sure why I even want to change a perfectly good system that is designed for my vehicle. I guess the cool factor enters the equation. But after I spend the money and I realize what I had was perfectly fine, I will just breathe a heavy sigh.....:banghead:
 






Thought about simply editing my post to Fentress and putting this in there, but figured I'd make a new post so anyone who encounters a similar issue will know to try this.

Before I get to that though, I have to say this really, really bothered me. I worked on electronics in the Marine Corps and not being able to solve this issue was really bugging me. On top of that my father-in-law is an electrical engineer (along with being a farmer, haha) and when I ran my 'troubleshooting' by him we both came to the conclusion that I'd covered all the steps and the LEDs were likely defective.

Flash forward to late this morning. I asked my father-in-law to come by so that we could wire both LEDs up at the same time. I didn't think it would work. He didn't think it would work. Nothing that I read online indicated that both had to be wired up for it to work correctly, either. But the 'troubleshooter' in me wouldn't let it go and that was the only thing I hadn't tried.....

...and they still didn't work. Bummed, we were just about to unhook the LEDs and reinstall the halogens when a thought came over me: what if the plug for the LEDs are wired backwards? We'd be hooking them up with the little 'nipple' that the 'fingers' on the plug grab on to the proper way (so that it locks.) I decided to flip my plug around to where the nipple was on the back side of the fingers. Success! Did it to my father-in-laws side and we now had working LED high beams. There is a rubber plug that fits very tightly inside the plug side of the LED that should keep it wired up correctly, but since the nipple and fingers are on opposite sides it isn't 'locked' like it should be. I didn't do it today (yet), but I will use electrical tape to make sure they don't wiggle apart (but, again, that rubber boot keeps things very tight, anyway.

TL;DR

If your LEDs don't work even after wiring them up, try flipping the plug around. It was kind of a last ditch effort on my part and thankfully that was the issue. :)

Sorry I didn't see your post earlier. Glad you got them working, I hope you are enjoying them.
 






Good morning and Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
I've moved your thread here so that you can get some more info on the project.
The bulb you have now is actually not a Hi/Lo one. The light intensity is controlled by a shutter that retracts when you chose high beam. On low beam the bulb is partially covered by the shutter. If you check out post #10 you will see a picture of a partial conversion but if you check the link supplied there and check the compatibility chart you will see that the LED bulb is shown as not being compatible with that vehicle. Many people seem to think that you can just simply stick any kind of bulb in any kind of housing whether it be a reflector or projector. This just is not so. While doing so will no doubt improve the amount of light produced, there is no way to get a perfect beam.
The housings are specifically designed for the type of factory bulb that it was designed for. There is a reason that reflector types come with halogen and not LED. LED produces just too bright a light to be properly handled by a reflector resulting in light splash. Here is an interesting article on LED;
http://www.archlighting.com/technology/leds-understanding-optical-performance_o

Also, as per the linked article below; "Headlight reflectors and lenses are designed for a bulb of a specific output, size and shape. Altering any one of those elements may result in a different beam pattern that could stun, blind and annoy other road users."
http://www.caradvice.com.au/278125/headlights-explained-halogen-v-hid-v-led-v-laser/

There are other threads/posts on conversions and for fog light upgrades as well. The Forum has a handy 'Search' feature in the upper right that you should familiarize yourself with. It may take some practice but it is useful for finding existing thread on many discussed topic. Good luck.

Peter
Thank you, Peter, for putting my post in the correct place. And, I appreciate your input.
 






Good morning and Welcome to the Forum.:wave:
I've moved your thread here so that you can get some more info on the project.
The bulb you have now is actually not a Hi/Lo one. The light intensity is controlled by a shutter that retracts when you chose high beam. On low beam the bulb is partially covered by the shutter. If you check out post #10 you will see a picture of a partial conversion but if you check the link supplied there and check the compatibility chart you will see that the LED bulb is shown as not being compatible with that vehicle. Many people seem to think that you can just simply stick any kind of bulb in any kind of housing whether it be a reflector or projector. This just is not so. While doing so will no doubt improve the amount of light produced, there is no way to get a perfect beam.
The housings are specifically designed for the type of factory bulb that it was designed for. There is a reason that reflector types come with halogen and not LED. LED produces just too bright a light to be properly handled by a reflector resulting in light splash. Here is an interesting article on LED;
http://www.archlighting.com/technology/leds-understanding-optical-performance_o

Also, as per the linked article below; "Headlight reflectors and lenses are designed for a bulb of a specific output, size and shape. Altering any one of those elements may result in a different beam pattern that could stun, blind and annoy other road users."
http://www.caradvice.com.au/278125/headlights-explained-halogen-v-hid-v-led-v-laser/

There are other threads/posts on conversions and for fog light upgrades as well. The Forum has a handy 'Search' feature in the upper right that you should familiarize yourself with. It may take some practice but it is useful for finding existing thread on many discussed topic. Good luck.

Peter

After reading your post, and the two linked articles, I ask your opinion - should I just leave things well enough alone!? Or maybe try one of the silverstar or comparable bulbs?
 






I don't profess to be an expert and all the info I've gathered is from articles like those I linked and others that have gone through the retrofit process. As for Silverstars and similar bulbs I don't see an issue with trying them as they are halogen bulbs as well, just brighter. I used PIAA bulbs in my Highlanders with improved results. I actually haven't driven an Explorer with the halogens so I don't know how bad they are. I have halogen high beams in my Platinum and aside from the colour difference compared to the LED lows, I find them more than adequate. Just be aware that those higher output bulbs don't have that long a lifespan.

Peter
 






I read also that they make the filament thinner which makes it run brighter and more susceptible to failure. They also put a blue tint on the tube to make it seem whiter.
 






Ok...I just got my LED conversion kit. I swapped out the halogen with the LED, turned it on and it seems to throw light in the correct direction. I am having a problem with how to tuck away the wires coming from the bulb. Some say they can get the dust cover on over them but not me. Also, if you don't put the cover back on it exposes the inside of the headlight assembly. Is there someone out there that can provide pics or a description as to how they successfully installed these? Also, how did you attach the driver and where? I really don't like the idea of just jamming wires, etc., into whatever cranny is available. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
P.S. - I can hear Peter now saying "I told you so". lol!!
 






These articles are very enlightening (pardon the pun....) but it seems as though many forum members are pleased with results of their LED conversion. I ordered a kit from CarID.com just to see if what they advertise is true. I expect them to arrive today and will post results. I am leaning toward what you say that it will not work, but I guess I just want to see for myself.

Can you post a link to the parts you bought?
 






Ok...I just got my LED conversion kit. I swapped out the halogen with the LED, turned it on and it seems to throw light in the correct direction. I am having a problem with how to tuck away the wires coming from the bulb. Some say they can get the dust cover on over them but not me. Also, if you don't put the cover back on it exposes the inside of the headlight assembly. Is there someone out there that can provide pics or a description as to how they successfully installed these? Also, how did you attach the driver and where? I really don't like the idea of just jamming wires, etc., into whatever cranny is available. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
P.S. - I can hear Peter now saying "I told you so". lol!!

It's going to depend on what you bought. A lot of people cut a slit. The ones I bought fit entirely inside. No wire stuffing, nothing. They just fit.
 






It's going to depend on what you bought. A lot of people cut a slit. The ones I bought fit entirely inside. No wire stuffing, nothing. They just fit.

What year is your Ex - mine is 2015? What kind of LED did you get? I got the Lumens G8..

https://www.carid.com/2015-ford-exp...n-led-headlight-conversion-kit-175101486.html

I plugged it into place but the broad, flat wire connects to one end of the driver and the other plugs into the OEM connector so I have two wires to tuck away. Did you have a driver - where did you attach that? Sounds like you have something entirely different......

And thanks for taking the time to answer - I appreciate that....:salute:
 






What year is your Ex - mine is 2015? What kind of LED did you get? I got the Lumens G8..
According to his profile in the margin, he has a 2013 XLT.;)

Peter
 












What year is your Ex - mine is 2015? What kind of LED did you get? I got the Lumens G8..

https://www.carid.com/2015-ford-exp...n-led-headlight-conversion-kit-175101486.html

I plugged it into place but the broad, flat wire connects to one end of the driver and the other plugs into the OEM connector so I have two wires to tuck away. Did you have a driver - where did you attach that? Sounds like you have something entirely different......

And thanks for taking the time to answer - I appreciate that....:salute:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...dlight-conversions.435075/page-5#post-3597659
 



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